"The Justice secretary’s remark about arming lawyers is astounding, and recalls another ill-advised campaign back in 2005 to arm journalists."
In a startling admission of the government’s inability to protect lawyers, the Justice secretary this week said the authorities can help facilitate the issuance of gun permits and licenses to carry for those who wish to arm themselves for their own protection.
“Lawyers know that their job exposes them to danger, and there is no law prohibiting them from arming themselves,” said Guevarra, who described the recent spate of lawyers being killed as “alarming.”
“If they wish to arm themselves, there’s no problem with that. The government may even help facilitate the issuance of appropriate permits,” he added.
Earlier this month, Angelo Karlo Guillen, one of the petitioners against the Anti-Terrorism Law, was stabbed in the head and shoulder by two unidentified assailants.
In December 2020, lawyer Maria Concepcion Landero-Ole from Cebu was gunned down in Looc, Danao City. In the same month, investigators confirmed that the mutilated body found in Capas, Tarlac was former Court of Appeals Justice Normandie Pizarro.
In November, lawyers Eric Jay Magcamit in Palawan and Joey Luis Wee in Cebu were killed in broad daylight. The murders happened in a span of a week.
Last week, Guevarra said the Justice Department had completed its inventory of cases on lawyers who have been killed since President Duterte assumed office in 2016, but he refrained from making the list public “as more details are needed.”
But a few days earlier, the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) had said a total of 61 lawyers, including prosecutors and members of the judiciary, have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power in 2016. Of these, 26 were tagged as work-related.
“The fact that almost half of the killings were due to work-related or possibly work-related motives is an indicator of the growing danger of practicing the legal profession in the country,” FLAG said.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippine, meanwhile, said the killings of members of the legal profession—a majority of which have not been solved—can erode the public’s trust in the justice system, and weaken the resolve of lawyers, law enforcers, judges and prosecutors.
In the wake of these attacks and their serious implications, the Justice secretary said lawyers are prone to what he described as “murderous incidents” due to the nature of their work and many of such attacks are well-planned so that authorities find them hard to solve.
He said lawyers need to take measures to improve their personal security.
“Lawyers should take precautions. They know their situation so they should be more aware of the danger or the risk they are facing … So it is incumbent upon them to take the necessary precautions,” Guevarra said in a radio interview.
The Justice secretary’s remark in favor of “do-it-yourself” protection is astounding, and recalls another ill-advised campaign back in 2005 to arm journalists.
A failed state is defined as one that is unable to perform two fundamental functions: project authority over its territory and peoples, and protect its national boundaries.
This government has already failed to safeguard our territorial waters from foreign intruders. If all we can do to protect lawyers is to tell them to buy a gun, we are batting two for two.